2 defendants found guilty in brawl
10/31/09 | 10 comments

2 defendants found guilty in brawl


By Sharon Kiley Mack
BDN Staff

MACHIAS, Maine — Sean MacArthur, 22, and Adam Casey, 26, both of Baileyville were found guilty of a combined five charges Friday by a jury at Washington County Superior Court.

The case revolved around a brawl in August 2007 between a group of Baileyville teenagers and men and a group of Indian Township boys and men. Two Indian Township boys were injured in the fracas.

The conjoined trial began Tuesday and was placed in the jury’s hands Thursday afternoon.

MacArthur was found guilty of aggravated assault, a Class B crime punishable by up to 10 years in jail, simple assault on one victim, and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon on all victims.

Casey was found guilty of assault on the second victim and criminal threatening against all victims. Both convictions are Class D crimes punishable by less than one year in prison.

“The state is very satisfied with the verdict,” First Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh said Friday afternoon. “The jury clearly listened to the evidence.”

Justice E. Allen Hunter continued sentencing of the two men until next month.

MacArthur and Casey are two of five Baileyville males charged with confronting five Indian Township youths in a credit union parking lot in August 2007 with sticks, a metal rod and two-by-four boards.

The victims were Indian males, whose ages at the time were 13, 14, 15, 16 and 20.

The other three men charged were Corey Townsend, who was 17 at the time, his brother, David Townsend, 21 then, and Nicholas James, 18 then.

Both Townsend brothers were found guilty of assault, and the case against James is pending. David Townsend was sentenced to one year in jail and two years probation. Corey Townsend was sentenced to a one-year term at a juvenile correction facility with all but five days suspended, and two years of probation.

The brawl was investigated as a possible race-based hate crime, and all five Baileyville men signed consent agreements with the Maine Attorney General’s Office under the Maine Human Rights Act. The agreements barred them from having contact with the victims and required them to refrain from violating the Maine Civil Rights Act.

During testimony this week, the victims testified they were surrounded by the Baileyville men and one Indian boy was attacked and injured. A second Indian boy was hurt when he attempted to assist his injured friend.

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Comments
10 comments on this item
On 10/31/09 at 7:47 AM, JeffDubay wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Don't the Indian's have names?

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On 10/31/09 at 8:35 AM, Native1710 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The sentence: 5 years on the Passamaquoddy reservation in a tent. And, no, Jeff, "Indian's"(sic) don't have names in Maine. They answer to "Brave", "Squaw", "Tonto", or "Indian". When they answer to these slurs, sometimes they get beaten by a gang of nutless bullies. Kind of like this article!

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On 10/31/09 at 10:27 AM, LQQKatme wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Not only do we of First Nations "not have names" , but we are not considered humans either. why name the victims? Most were juveniles and if identified could be open targets by other "White Eye " biggots. Thank you for justice in this case. A Micmac brother.

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On 10/31/09 at 12:12 PM, concerned212 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

LQQKatme "white eye biggots" and thats not prejudice?!! You talk about prejudice against the native americans then you use a phrase that like....ever heard of the golden rule? DO ONTO OTHERS AS YOU WANT DONE TO YOU! If you dont want to be called names then dont call others nasty names either! Two wrongs do not make a right!

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On 11/1/09 at 5:05 AM, dogman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If native americans don't have names then what do they put on everyones checks each month and how does the delivery man know where to deliver the free heating oil erery year?

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On 11/2/09 at 10:55 AM, Eugene wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The insensitivity of non-native-American Mainers above are as clear as their ignorance being treated by themselves as some sort of earned virture.

Undraged victims are not named in news reports especially when the report is about the perps who have been punished.

But the case can not close just yet...right ???

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On 11/2/09 at 12:04 PM, Centaurmyst wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The victims in this article were minors. The newspaper doesn't usually publish the names of minors to protect them. This would be the case regardless of their heritage.

What is with all this back biting between people on here? I'm white but some of my best friends are native. Heck, my first grandchild due in a couple of months is going to be native. His father (my daughter's boyfriend) is one of the nicest, best mannered and hardest working guys you could ever meet. He's been the best boyfriend she's ever had. We adore his siblings and our families are really close. Our families all care about our kids, the health and happiness of the people we love and making sure we can provide for our kiddos. Instead of bickering back and forth why don't people actually talk TO each other and get to the root of those hard feelings and actually attempt to understand where the other is coming from? There's plenty of bias and prejudices that comes from both sides and it sure is a real shame because at the end of the day we're all very much alike and worried about the same stuff.

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On 11/2/09 at 2:52 PM, gls427 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

hahaha dogman! thats so true. and does everyone forget that there was a mob of adult indians in the parking lot of a local establishment with weapons the same night this incident happened? why aren't they in trouble for anything? again -they come looking for a fight but cant handle the outcome.

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On 11/4/09 at 6:00 AM, Sassy1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Dogman, that free oil you're talking about is HEAP. It's available in every town in Maine if you are income eligible. Not every native is eligible. I am not Native but I am so tired of people like you that use your false assumptions to slam an entire population.

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On 11/5/09 at 9:51 PM, webuddy wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Come on people! Think with your hearts, not your egos. Predjudism sucks-no matter what side of the fence your on.

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